Can living
in a well-designed place make us happy?
Is contentment more a function of good design than of financial
wealth? Have poorly designed places been
sapping our satisfaction with life?
Author Charles
Montgomery tackles those questions in his book “Happy City”. He begins with Enrique Penalosa, who in his
term as mayor of Bogota, Columbia espoused the expansion of bikeways, public
transit, and parks as a way of building a contentment that might exceed the contentment
of financial prosperity. Montgomery then
continues into an examination of the post-World War II land-use patterns of American
cities and their possible connection to a lack of American emotional
fulfillment.
But
Montgomery doesn’t blindly accept the hypothesis that good design will lead to
happiness. Instead, he frames the key
questions around the hypothesis, such as how can happiness be defined and
measured, and then begins an extended search for answers. “Happy City” is the story of his search.
I’m not
going to give away his conclusions, in part because I haven’t yet completed the
book. But I want to call your attention
to the book and its likely importance to urbanism in 2014.
Long-time
readers may remember that the relationship of happiness and design is a subject
on which I’ve previously touched. In “The Architecture of Happiness”, author Alain
de Botton poses the question, “If our surroundings are important to our
happiness, how can we ever be unhappy in a well-designed place?” I considered it a profound question, although
I don’t believe that de Botton found an answer to the question. Nonetheless, “The Architecture of Happiness”
complements “Happy City” sufficiently well that I’ll be dipping back into it as
I read “Happy City”.
I hope many
of you join me in following the trek of Montgomery as he considers the
connection between happiness and design.
Schedule Note
The agenda for
the last meeting of Petaluma Urban Chat was to select our next joint reading book. After a fine discussion about alternatives,
we selected “Happy City”, which is one reason I’ve begun reading it myself.
The next
meeting of Urban Chat will be Tuesday, March 11. If “Happy City” intrigues you, and I suggest
that it should, you should join us at the meeting. The initial reading assignment is the first
five chapters. But even if you don’t
have time to secure a copy and read the chapters, you should come
regardless. I expect a fine conversation
on a pertinent subject.
As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated. Please comment below or email me. And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
As always, your questions or comments will be appreciated. Please comment below or email me. And thanks for reading. - Dave Alden (davealden53@comcast.net)
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